Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-06-25
MARKET OF MEXICO.
SUNDAY MORNING ON THE HIGH WAYS LEADING TO THE CITY.


 WAYS LEADING TO THE CITY. yhs Gathering at the Market Place.
 What May be Bought There-The Eas,
 ing Stands-Lepers and Beggzrs-va-
 rious Strange Sights.
 Sunday in place of being a day of rest is the chief working day in the week in all the markets of the republic. Indeed 1t is said that the beasts of burden know when Sunday comes by the extra amount of work required of them. Then 1t is the haciendadO starts his drOves and brings his various products from the distant ranches so as to reach the Sunday market. The scene on Sunday morning on the highways leading into the city is enliven- ing.
 Hundreds of pack mules and burros. loaded with hay, corn, wood, charcoal and butchers supplies are hurried on by the peon muleterOs. There are long trains of cumbersome, two wheeled carts fitted with vats for pulque and others with goat skins of pulque. The ranchero is bringing up the rear. He is mounted on a flne horse and carries lassO, sword and pistol by his side, and usually wears pair of fancy leather pantalOOns with a couple of rows of silver buckles OF the seam from the pockets to the shoe tops. Then along the pathway on either side of the road we see many Indians and inestizos, or half breeds, hurrying on in a jog trot under loads of fruit, vegetables, earthenware, bullrush mats, baskets of eggs, butter, clabber cheese and cOOps of chickens, etc.
 Others are leading haltered pigs, lambs, goats and cows. The women are usually shOeleSs and hatless, and in addition to their burden of produce most of them carry a baby on top of the load. Whole families plod on in this style for fifty or seventyhve miles with load of produce that will not sell for more than 6 or H. most of which they will spend for pulque and mescal before they leave the city, yet they will return home after a weeks trip just as happy as if they had laid up the whole amount for old age
 SIGHTS IN THE MARKETS.
 The articles seen is the market I will here give as they were written down dur Ing recent Sunday morning visit. One department is under cover and Is filled with assorted fruits, including oranges, lemons, Hines, pineapples, pears, peaches, plums, bananas, quinces, alligator pears, cOcOanuts and many other tropical fruits, most of which, owing tO the high market tax and costly transportation, sell at about New York prices. The streets and side walks in the vicinity are lined with men, women and children, who are seated on the ground surrounded by their market products, which include, beside the Ordi- nary vegetable market products, parrots, pigeons, unweaned puppies, game chick ems, pet lambs, haltered pigs and kids Then there are heaps of old iron, bird cages, cheap calico, brass iewelry, boiled corn, potatoes, stewed pumpkins, beans, pepper, cooked and raw pigs feet, sheep heads, hearts, lights and entrails. There are also fiints and finder for starting fires, metal mounted stone for grinding corn, roots, bark and medical herbs and dye woods
 Close by We see fried shrimps and grass h0ppers; each are cooked whole and eaten so. The latter are about the size of our common gras.hopper, but are entirely red, but as to looks would just as soon try to go the common hopper" of the north. Besides these the natives gather the eggs of the swamp fly and boil them into paste and eat them with salt, chilli (pepperl and tortillas. The fly and it's eggs arc each sold in the market. The former Is somewhat smaller than the house fly, while the eggs are about the size and color of hay seed. In fact everything is eaten here that the human stomach will digest or anything that Is capable of being converted into soup.
 A MOTLEY MIXTURE.
 Passing on we see women selling flow CTS, incense, gum, cane and corn stalks, cigarettes, cigar stumps, pulque, stale bread. bulirush mats, second hand combs, aud tooth brushes, Aztec images of gods, sacred images and pictures, hot soup, ice cream, toy collins, candy skulls, prayer books, wax images. hairless bluish poodle dogs cakes made for the dead, also others U!ade in the form of the crucihX, the Virgin, saints and angels.
 Among this motley mixture there are to be seen babies half naked and babies com pletely naked running at large. In fact numerous entire families of Mexican citi- Zens come and spend aA day in the mar ket place. This is their home and they usually bring all their domestic animals along The market presents continued babble, as every vender keeps up a con stant cry, which he gives in Spanish and sometimes in the Aztec or native Indian dialect, the kind, quality and price Of all he has to sell.
 Each stand has pole about eight feet high. upon the top of which there is dat framework covered with bullrush mat. This is the only protection from sun and rain, and under such shelter we find the hash and soup stands. In these popular eating stands every article of food that will not scald or burn is dished out by hand; for other things they use large wooden and brass spoons While not otherwise engaged these women are hunt ing fieas among their poodle dogs and puppies and combing the children's heads fer what they seldom fail to find. Then there are scores of lepers and beg gars sleeping and lounging about gather ing the vermin from their filthy rags. Some of them are playing lame while others are covered with sores which they pointedly exhibit. but more often in place of sores are layers of acquired filth. Thus with as few rags as the law will permit and as much filth as they can live under these beggars crowd the market place, confront every class of visitors and expect to be paid for the exhibition they present. There are also many other phases of life among the lowly eommOn sights every day, but for the sake of prOpriety and decency are not spoken Of.-Mexico Cor. Detroit Free Press.